Week 3 Facilitator Hand-Outs

I need to create a SharePoint list called "Leave Requests" to track leave requests for 1st Battalion, 99th Marines. The list needs the following columns:

  - Requester Name (person field)
  - Leave Type (choice: Annual, Convalescent, Emergency, Special Liberty)
  - Start Date (date)
  - End Date (date)
  - Days Requested (calculated: End Date minus Start Date)
  - Justification (multiple lines of text)
  - Status (choice: Pending, Approved, Denied, Cancelled)
  - Approver (person field)
  - Date Submitted (date and time, default to today)
  - Date Actioned (date and time)

  Give me a CSV template I can import into SharePoint to create this list, plus tell me which columns I need to add manually after import.

I used Integrate -> Power Apps -> Create an app from my "Leave Requests" SharePoint list. Power Apps auto-generated a browse screen, detail screen, and edit form. I need to customize the edit form:

  - Auto-populate the Requester Name field with the current user (read-only)
  - Validation: End Date must be after Start Date
  - Validation: Justification must be at least 20 characters
  - Show a success message after saving

  The auto-generated form uses an EditForm control. Give me the formulas I need to add these customizations.

I created a Power Automate flow from my "Leave Requests" SharePoint list using Integrate -> Power Automate. The trigger "When an item is created" is already connected to the list. Now I need to add routing logic:

  - 1-3 days: Route to Section Leader (sectionlead@1bn99marines.mil)
  - 4-10 days: Route to Company Commander (co@1bn99marines.mil)
  - More than 10 days: Route to Battalion Commander (bn-co@1bn99marines.mil)

  The flow should update the Approver field in the SharePoint list with the appropriate person and send them an email notification with the request details. Give me the actions to add after the trigger.

I need to add approval functionality to the Power Automate flow. After the approver is notified, they should receive an approval action (Approve/Reject) directly in their email or Teams. When they take action:

  - If Approved: Update Status to "Approved", set Date Actioned to now
  - If Rejected: Update Status to "Denied", set Date Actioned to now
  - Include an optional comments field for the approver

  Show me how to modify the flow to add this approval action.

I need a training tracker for 1st Battalion, 99th Marines. We need to track which Marines have completed which training events. Start with a SharePoint list that can store: Marine name, training event name, completion date, and status (Complete, Overdue, Scheduled). Give me the SharePoint list structure and a CSV I can import.

Wait, this structure will create a new row for every training event for every Marine. That's going to be a very long list. I need a dashboard where I can see all five training events for each Marine in one row. How should I restructure this?

Now I need a Power BI dashboard that connects to this SharePoint list and shows: A table with all Marines and their training status for each event, color-coded (green for Complete, red for Overdue, yellow for Scheduled). Give me the steps to create this in Power BI.

The conditional formatting isn't working. When I select Background Color and try to set rules, I don't see an option to set color based on the field value. I see options for "Rules" or "Field value" but neither seems to work the way you described. Give me the exact steps for Power BI Desktop to color-code cells based on their text value.

I need to add a column that shows how many days until each training event is due. Each training event has an annual recurrence. For example, if a Marine completed Annual Rifle Qual on 15 Jan 2025, it's due again on 15 Jan 2026. I want the dashboard to show "Due in X days" or "Overdue by X days" for each event. How do I add this to the Power BI report?

Before you write your first prompt, paste these three lines into your build doc and answer them.

  1) What I am building (one sentence - tool type + user):
     Example: "A vehicle dispatch tracker for the motor pool chief."
     Bad: "Something to help with vehicles."
     ____________________________________________________________________

  2) Mode (centaur or cyborg) and why - tie the reason to the task:
     Example: "Centaur, because the approval chain has strict business
              rules that need upfront design."
     Example: "Cyborg, because I do not yet know what the dashboard
              should show - I need to see it to react to it."
     ____________________________________________________________________

  3) Frontier issues I expect (at least two concrete risks):
     Example: "AI may not know our unit's leave approval thresholds."
     Example: "SharePoint Person fields have caused errors before."
     - 
     - 

Decomposition Template - fill out before writing your first prompt.

  1) Data:       What are you tracking? What columns does the list need?
  2) Users:      Who creates the data? Who reads it? Who updates it?
                 Who approves it?
  3) Workflow:   What happens when a new item is created?
                 Does it need routing or approval?
  4) Output:     What does leadership need to see?
                 Dashboard, report, email summary?
  5) Tech stack: SharePoint list -> Power App (Integrate)
                 -> Power Automate flow? Or simpler?

  This takes 5 minutes and prevents the most common Build #3 failure:
  starting to code before knowing what you are building.

Frontier Map - starter (6 example rows)

  | Task Type                | AI Handles Well                                          | AI Handles Poorly                                  | Verification Needed                                  |
  |--------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------|
  | SharePoint list schema   | Column types, relationships, basic validation rules      | Complex calculated columns with nested IF logic    | Always verify column data types match actual data    |
  | Power App form layout    | Basic screens, navigation, standard input controls       | Conditional visibility with 3+ dependencies        | Test every show/hide rule with real data             |
  | Power Automate flows     | Simple approval flows, email notifications, conditions   | Error handling for nested conditions, retry logic  | Test all error paths, not just the happy path        |
  | Data validation formulas | Required fields, format checks, simple lookups           | Cross-table validation, date range conflicts       | Check edge cases: empty fields, special characters   |
  | Dashboard / reporting    | Basic charts, card layouts, simple filters               | Complex DAX measures, row-level security           | Verify numbers against source data manually          |
  | UI text and labels       | Button labels, headers, help text                        | Context-sensitive errors, domain jargon            | Have an actual user read every message               |
  | (your row 1)             |                                                          |                                                    |                                                      |
  | (your row 2)             |                                                          |                                                    |                                                      |

  A useful row names a specific task type (not a generic category), gives a concrete
  example of what AI produced correctly, describes a specific failure with enough detail
  to recognize it next time, and states a testable verification action ("verify the
  calculated column return type is Number") - not just "check it."